The Lady Broncs of Hamilton are a senior laden team with eight seniors, one junior and one sophomore on the team. They also have a new head coach. Jodi Bush was at Darby and then Victor before taking the position in Hamilton this year. Seasoned players Tristy Searle (5’10”) and Caitlin Dillon (5’7”) are joined by Hayley Hudgins, Cariann Kunkel, Madison Ellis, Brooke Huxtable and Hennesy Meyer to form a tough, experienced team. Sophia Doyle and Emma Ellis are the two underclassmen on the varsity.
The team defeated Salmon, Idaho, on Thursday in straight sets, 25-19, 25-17, 25-15. Hamilton had 32 kills with Searle and Kunkel having six kills each. Hudgins had five blocks. The team had 34 digs with Kunkel digging up 10. Dillon had 17 of the team’s 32 assists. There were 20 Hamilton aces and Dillon had six.
On Saturday, the Lady Broncs traveled to Frenchtown for a battle of the Broncs on the court. Frenchtown defeated Hamilton in four sets, 13-25, 28-26, 25-18, 25-19. Hamilton had 34 kills with Hudgins and Searle each having seven kills. The Lady Broncs had 71 digs with Searle having 15 digs. Dillon and Searle each had 4 aces with the team adding four more aces.
Florence and Corvallis have consistently been at the top of their respective divisions over the past few years. The two teams met on Thursday night with Florence taking the match, 25-22, 16-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-27, 15-12.
Florence had 37 kills with Sarah Hopcroft slamming down 15. Rilee Mangun had two of the four Falcon blocks. Hudson Doty-Dibrito had 18 digs and the team total was 52. Shay Waldbillig had 27 assists. Hopcroft and Doty-Dibrito each had three aces and the team total was 12.
Corvallis, who has also made numerous trips to the state finals, had 48 kills with Maureen Jessop knocking down 17. Charlotte Powell had five of the team’s 12 blocks. Kate Hurlbert had 19 digs with the team digging up a total of 91 balls. Hurlbert also had 43 assists. Corvallis had 10 aces with Jessop scoring six.
Florence defeated Thompson Falls, 25-7, 25-7, 25-12, on Saturday. Hopcroft and Shannon Byrne combined for 18 of the team’s 33 kills. Jacklyn Balfourt had two blocks. Doty-DiBrito had 21 digs. Waldbillig had 25 of the 27 assists and Hopcroft had six aces. Florence had a total of 14 aces.
Stevensville toppled Ronan in three sets, 25-13, 25-10, 25-11. The Lady Yellowjackets had 25 kills with Angel Richards slapping down nine and Prestley Robinson with eight. Richards also had three of the seven blocks for Stevi. Cassi Kopsa had 16 digs and Quinn Larson had 19 assists. Robinson smacked eight of the team’s 19 aces.
The Lady Pirates of Victor fell to Lincoln, 25017, 25-22, 25-14. Maddison Allred had nine kills for Victor. Krissy Kettle had 13 digs and Allred had two aces. Sophie Pearson had 10 assists for the Lady Pirates.